Tougher Standards for Financial Advisors Still Out of Reach

After years of consultations about raising standards for financial advisors many industry watchers are beginning to doubt it will ever happen.

“They’ve been at this for a long time, so you sort of wonder about the ability to get to a simple result — whether there’s a will to bite the bullet,” says Ed Waitzer, a partner at Toronto law firm Stikeman Elliott LLP.

Mr. Waitzer, a former chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission, points out that it has been a decade since the regulator first proposed an overhaul of the advisor-client relationship and a crackdown on compensation and fee structures that set up inherent conflicts of interest between investment dealers and advisors and their clients.

The renewed deliberations began in late 2012, but the umbrella group for Canada’s provincial and territorial securities regulators signaled this month that there are extreme differences of opinion about what, if anything, should be done. The debate has been kicked over to 2014. Read More…

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Federico Lymansays:

I’ve been watching this for years and complaining that their needed to be regulation standards to make things proper but i just don’t think it will ever happen.

Too much greed runs deep in the investment arena and it is just not good business for them to control what and how one speaks to clients.

Camden Galifesays:

Something disturbingly wrong when stock/financial advisors are being paid advisor fees while also trying to advise people. Seems like a big conflict of interest. The’d be more inclined to try to push more product in hopes of making more at their bottom line 🙁

Regulate them or ge ready to be exploited!

Adolfosays:

This is what i give credit to Canada. If this was the U.S. we wouldn’t even be having this discussion besides talks about losing their liberties because the government was trying to help. Sure we are still in standards discussion but at least we know one day it will be in place and we as consumers will be all the better.

Elmersays:

I thought it was funny how the article points out a commissioned study done by a blue chip company suggesting that Canada had already enough regulation and that there was no gap that needed to be filled where more regulation would improve the investment advisor/dealer relationship with clients.

Yalesays:

This is the first time hearing about an OSC investor advisory panel. Cute! Going to read more about them. Thanks for sharing this article.

Kent Colemensays:

Dude, people still buy mutual funds? If they do they that is the problem. Studies show funds are the worse performers. Index ETFs are the way to go since history shows indices keep up with the pace of regulation and time — it rises.

Agustnsays:

This is the problem with not having a nation wide securities agency like the US has with the SEC. Where is Canada’s version of SEC = CSEC? Please, someone correct me!

Rory Islersays:

Mutual Fund managers are the ones who fear this possible new regulation because it focces them to push product in the interest of their clients and not junk that is overpriced (higher MER%) so it benefits their bottom.

Because money is involved it is going to be very difficult for Canada to pass any more regulation on the banks. They run the place, didnt you know??